The Tennessee Forest Festival

The Tennessee Forest will return to Bolivar and Hardeman County for the 36th time September 8-10, 2023.

According to organizers, there will be a Rodeo, Demolition Derby, and Miss Forest Festival Pageant on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday and exhibits and demonstrations throughout the weekend. There will be canned goods contests and art contests as well.

For more information on the pageant, call Amber Moore at 731-609-1210 or Lisa Higgs at 731-212-2811. For any other aspect of the Forest Festival, call Hardeman County UT Extension Service at 731-658-2421.

Originally started in 1949 at Tracy City, the festival first came to Bolivar in 1957 and returned in 1969. In 1972, it disbanded through 1977.

In 1978 the Hardeman County Chamber of Commerce asked that Hardeman County be designated as the permanent home of the Festival, where it ran until 2007. In 2018, through a grant from the state of Tennessee, the Forest Festival returned to Hardeman County.

Photo: Isaac Lane’s 1980 Chevy Caprice was the only car still running at the end of the Hardeman County Forest Festival Demolition Derby on September 18, 2021, earning him $1200 on the night.